Golf-practice mat

ABSTRACT

A practice mat for golfers of rubber of substantial length and width, containing no metal parts and having a cavity in one end of the face of the mat containing a brush removably secured in said cavity and to said mat and the brush having an upstanding rubber tube extending from the lower portion of the rubber mat upwardly through the brush and extending upwardly above the brush surface, whereby golf iron shots may be practiced from the brush surface and golf wood shots may be practiced using the rubber tube.

United States Patent,

. [72] lnventor Joseph Elesh Skokie, Ill. [21] Appl. No. 814,286 [22]Filed Apr. 8, 1969 [45] Patented Aug. 17, 1971 [73] AssigneeInternational Recreation Products, Inc.

Skokie, Ill.

[54] GOLF-PRACTICE MAT 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] 0.8. CI... 273/195 A [51] Int. Cl A63b 69/36 [50] Field of Search273/176, 195, 196, 197, 198, 183,211; 15/217, 238, 239

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,790,640 4/1957 Hoag273/195 A 3,423,096 1/1969 Tone 273/195 A 3,107,920 10/1963 Strunk...273/195 (A)X 3,348,847 10/1967 Fischl 273/176 X 3,466,048 9/1969Anderson et al.... 273/21] X 3,467,391 9/1969 Elesh 273/195 (A) PrimaryExaminer-George J. Marlo Attorney-Rummler and Snow ABSTRACT: A practicemat for golfers of rubber of substantial length and width, containing nometal parts and having a cavity in one end of the face of the matcontaining a brush removably secured in said cavity and to said mat andthe brush having an upstanding rubber tube extending from the lowerportion of the rubber mat upwardly through the brush and extendingupwardly above the brush surface, whereby golf iron shots may bepracticed from the brush surface and golf wood shots may be practicedusing the rubber tube.

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GOLF-PRACTICE MAT An elongated solid rubberlike flexible base ofsubstantial width and length having a series of transverse-spaced ribson the lower surface thereof and with the edges of the base up beveled.The mat is provided with a cavity in one end thereof for the receptionof a rectangularly shaped brush element consisting of upstandingbristles sewn together in position to form a unitary structure and thebase of the bristles is impregnated with latex or-the like to make itimpervious to water. The brush is held in position in the cavity by aplurality of nylon bolts. Also, the cavity is provided with an openingwhich is aligned with a similar opening through the bristles for thereception of a tee, which is primarily a rubber tubing having a flangedbottom to prevent it from'being withdrawn upwardly through theapertures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of myimproved golf mat.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION All golfers, both the professionals and theamateurs, spend many hours at the practice tee. Because practice. teesare normally barren of grass due to tremendous use, artificialgolfdriving mats are employed. These usually comprise a largerectangular surface made up of strips of old tire casings anchoredtogether in an open work pattern where rain, etc., will drain therethru.Each of these mats is provided with a brush on which golf iron shots maybe played. This brush usually extends thru the mat and the upper surfacesimulates plush grass turf. On another portion of the mat a rubber teeis incorporated whereby a golfer may practice his wood shots. However,in most practice ranges, the mat is usually without one or the other ofthe brush or tee. It was to overcome this inherent defect and provide avery inexpensive combination tee and brush that this invention wasconceived.

A base or mat 10 is a planar element of elastomeric substance,preferably of a rubberlike substance, having a dimension of 3 or-4 feetby 5 feet by five-eights of an inch in thickness. The edges of the baseare beveled or rounded as at 12 around its perimeter. At one end of thebase 10, I have provided a cavity 14 extending partially through thethickness of the base 10 and preferably of a dimension of l foot by 2feet, or 1 foot by 30 inches, whereby to seat a brush element 16.

The brush element 16 is rectangularly shaped and comprises closelyspaced; upwardly extending bristles woven at their base and the entirelower portion of the bristles being immersed in a latex or a similarsubstance 18. The bristles are made preferably of a synthetic materialand their upper or free-ended surface takes on the appearance of a wellkept golf turf.

As shown in the drawings, the bottom of the base 10 is provided with aseries of spaced transversely extending ribs 20 whereby to giveresiliency to the base 10.

The base 10 within the cavity 14 is provided with four verticallyextending apertures 24 located adjacent each of the corners of thecavity and extending downwardly through the bottom of the base 10. Thebrush 16 is also provided with a series of four vertically extendingapertures 22 extending therethru adjacent each of the corners of thebrush. The apertures 22 in the brush and the apertures 24 in the baseare aligned with each other to receive a nylon bolt 26. The nut 28 isprovided with an enlarged flange 30 which seats in an appropriate recessin the bottom wall and ribs 20 of the base 10.

The base 10 and the brush 16 are each provided with vertically extendingaligned openings 34 and 32 respectively, for the reception of arubberlike tee member or tube 36. The tube 36 has an enlarged flange 38which seats in an appropriate recess in the bottom wall of the base 10and ribs 20 whereby the tube cannot be withdrawn from the brush mat inan upwardly direction. The upper end of the tube acts as a tee such asis normally used when playing the game of golf and a golf ball may beplaced on the upper end of the tube so that a person may practice hiswood shots since the elevation of the tube 36 is substantially the sameas is used in a game of golf.

It now should be apparent that with the inclusion of the tee 36 in thebrush mat, a person can practice both his golf wood shots and iron shotsfrom the same surface area, which has not been done heretofore. If thebrush surface 16 should become worn due to too much use, it is obviousthat it may be easily removed by removing the bolts 26 and a new matsurface may be readily replaced in the cavity.

The brush being built in the manner described hereinabove is extremelysimple andforms a relatively inexpensive manner of replacing the brushmat.

Also, since the tee is placed directly in the mat, the golf beginner orrank amateur who is practicing his golf shots cannot readily ruin hisdriving wood club since if the arc of the club head is lower than thetee, it will be impressed in the brush mat rather than into a hardsurface as has been the case in prior art golf practice mats.

I claim:

1. A golf practice mat comprising a planar surface of substantial widthand length having upper and lower surfaces, and a thickness, said matformed of a solid elastomeric substance, a rectangular cavity in saidupper surface, a rectangular brush element having a base and bristles,one end of said bristles being woven into said base, the base of saidbrush element being completely embedded in a latexlike substance to makeit impervious to moisture and insure vertical positioning of thebristles of said brush, said base seated in said cavity and removablysecured therein, the major portion of the bristles extending upwardlybeyond the planar surface of the mat, said cavity and brush are providedwith aligned apertures adjacent the respective corners thereof foranchoring the brush to the mat, said brush and mat are also eachprovided with aligned enlarged apertures for the reception of arubberlike tube, said tube having an enlarged flange on the lower endthereof greater than the diameter of the apertures to receive the tube,the lower surface of said mat being countersunk whereby the flange mayseat therein.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the lower surface of said matis provided with spaced ribs extending transversely across to the longaxis of said mat, the full width of said mat.

1. A golf practice mat comprising a planar surface of substantial widthand length having upper and lower surfaces, and a thickness, said matformed of a solid elastomeric substance, a rectangular cavity in saidupper surface, a rectangular brush element having a base and bristles,one end of said bristles being woven into said base, the base of saidbrush element being completely embedded in a latexlike substance to makeit impervious to moisture and insure vertical positioning of thebristles of said brush, said base seated in said cavity and removablysecured therein, the major portion of the bristles extending upwardlybeyond the planar surface of the mat, said cavity and brush are providedwith aligned apertures adjacent the respective corners thereof foranchoring the brush to the mat, said brush and mat are also eachprovided with aligned enlarged apertures for the reception of arubberlike tube, said tube having an enlarged flange on the lower endthereof greater than the diameter of the apertures to receive the tube,the lower surface of said mat being countersunk whereby the flange mayseat therein.
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the lowersurface of said mat is provided with spaced ribs extending transverselyacross to the long axis of said mat, the full width of said mat.